A Shadow That Cast Over All
by God Emperor of Chaos
Summary: The Nara are infamous for two reasons. Their dangerous intelligence that allow them to outsmart any foe they encounter and their control over shadows. However there is one secret that the clan has kept hidden for generations, even from the Hokages. A shadow that only they knew of and could control. A shadow that casts over even the biju.


**An idea I've been planning out for a while, expect a longer AN at the end.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any copyrighted material.**

Chapter One: Marked

Shikaku Nara is known to be a calm man. One who would think out every action of this day and come up with thousands of ways to avoid doing house work he considers troublesome which is every single chore. Rarely anything can make him display any real emotion because there's a good chance that he already knew that it was going to happen.

So it was a surprise to everyone that Shikaku openly admitted his desire to strangle someone with their own organs.

Of course, when they saw him with his wife sitting next to his son who had bandages covering his eyes with a doctor saying how bad the damage was then it wouldn't be that big of a surprise.

That didn't make him any less frightening though.

"...And while his eyes will heal over time, that would take years even with monthly treatments. We were able to remove most of the glass dust in his eyes but many of them remain too deep in to safely remove," The doctor, a brown hair man with blue eyes, said to the family. "I'm sorry to say but Shikamaru career as a Shinobi is over before it could truly begin."

Yoshino was openly weeping, holding her son close to her, while Shikaku barely held back tears himself. "Can we be alone for a while?" Getting a 'of course' the Nara Clan Head looked at his son, feeling sorrow for him and anger at the teacher that did this to him, even if it was an accident.

By compiling all the info he gotten, an academy teacher, who lost his entire family in the Kyuubi attack, wanted to get back at Naruto by making sure that he would never see his victim's faces again. Said teacher was in charge of teaching his class about non-chakra bombs and when it came time to assemble fake one, he gave Naruto a real one that had glass dust in it and would explode the moment it was finished.

However it appeared that Naruto crashed into Shikamaru, who was actually awake that time, in his excitement to get back to his work station, getting their parts mixed. What happened later was obvious when Shikamaru finished his bomb first to get back to sleep and got face full of glass dust.

_'Only ten years old and already his Shinobi career is over.' _Shikaku thought, holding Shikamaru's hand in a gentle grip. Despite all his efforts, Shikamaru was visibly shaking if slightly at what the doctor told them. His son might have inherit his laziness but he did express a desire to become a Shinobi and now there was nothing they could do.

_'Unless...,' _Shikaku paled slightly, thinking of **that **scroll. He gripped his son's hand tighter, getting his attention. "Shikamaru, I have a question for you," He took a deep breathe. "What would you say if there was still a way for you to become a ninja?"

Both Nara's looked at him, both having signs of confusion on their faces. "Shikaku what do you mean by that?"

"I mean using **that **scroll." Yoshino quickly caught on and a look of horror and fear appeared on her features. Shikamaru listened to his parents, still not catching on.

"Dad what scroll and why does it sound so bad?" Ever the genius, his son and Shikaku couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "I'll explain if you agree to this Shikamaru but remember that if you say yes then there's no going back."

Shikamaru hesitated for a second before nodding but that wasn't enough for his father.

"No I don't want a nod. What I am offering is something that can never be taken back so I want to hear you say that agree to it with you meaning it."

"Yes I agree." This time Shikamaru spoke with as much meaning he could put into it. While the young Nara did act like a lazy bum most of the time, he truly did want to become a Shinobi.

Shikaku mentally prayed to every divine being he could think of that this won't backfire horribly on his son.

_Weeks Later _

Shikamaru kept a tight grip on his mom's hand, wondering how long they been walking. Its been weeks since his dad told him that there was still a way for him to become a Shinobi and ever since then, the young boy's mind been plagued with theories. The theories ranged from a super secret medicine that could cure anything to a ritual that would give him the eyes of a demon.

...Well he was ten after all.

Still anything would be better than being blind. He quickly gotten sick of people constantly asking if he needed help to do even simplest of tasks like eating or using the restroom(cue shudder) and being forced to familiarize himself with where everything was in his home so he wouldn't bump into it. Not to mention he could no longer engage in his favorite hobby, cloud watching.

Finally they came to a stop and Shikamaru heard the sounds of something heavy being opened, a kunai being drawn, flesh getting cut, a scroll being opened and a popping sound. Then he heard something growl and snarl that sent shivers through his entire body. It didn't sound natural to him for some reason.

The weirdest part was that his dad seemed to be talking to whatever was making those sounds, whispering something to it.

Finally his dad spoke up, his voice right next to him. "Alright Shikamaru, this is going to hurt a bit but it won't be for long." Nodding in reply, he felt his hands taken into his dad's own with the palms up, wrists held in a gentle but firm grip.

Then something that had to be **_acid_ **burn into them, making the young Nara cry out in pain. The acid burnt deep into his skin and he vaguely noticed that it appeared to be in a pattern if the pain on his palms was right.

Another popping sound and two unfamiliar weights settled on his shoulder, both must be something alive because he could feel their body heat on his face. They both hissed and wrapped what he thought is their tails under his armpits and a little around his bicep.

"Okay lets go now," His mom never sounded so scared in her life, taking his hand in her own being careful not to aggravate the acid burn. His dad spoke up. "I'll catch up later. Just take Shikamaru home and don't let anyone see you."

Getting a 'farewell', the two Nara began the long walk home.

_Shikaku _

The Nara Clan Head watched his wife and son walk back home, with two things on the latter's shoulders that could easily devour his head in seconds.

**"Your son shows promise Shikaku," **It spoke from behind him. To anyone but him, Yoshino, and now Shikamaru, they would only hear growls and snarls. They, on the other hand, heard countless voices that echoed in his head, a testament to how many had fallen to this thing.

Shikaku sighed, wishing that he hadn't quit smoking because a good smoke was what he needed right now. "You don't need to tell me that." He looked at the thing behind him and couldn't help but shiver.

It was massively built and easily 15 feet tall with two upper limbs that ended in huge claws that he knew could rip through anything with ease, black carapace that protected almost every inch of it's body. Two lower limbs, one a clawed hand holding a whip that had countless tentacles moving as if it had a mind of it's own, and the other a large cannon that could shoot out acid crystals that would kill anyone it hit and thick legs that ended in two claws that dug into the earth.

It gave what he thought was a smile. **"The link shall be established in the morning and by then the cells I gave him will begin healing the damage in his eyes. It'll still be a slow process but I predicted that he'll gain at least some of his sight in two years," **It looked at him with glowing yellow eyes that bore into his soul. **"I truly hope that he'll survive the trails to come." **It disappeared in a cloud of yellow smoke and Shikaku picked up a scroll that looked like it was made of flesh and hid it back into the rock, drawing the blood pattern required to close it. Once he finished, he stared at his hands where his mark is.

"I know he'll survive," Shikaku whispered, staring at the mark of a creature in a nearly complete circle, eyes narrowed and a maw full of teeth. "The question is if he'll be able to live afterwards."

_The Next Morning _

Shikamaru slowly his eyes and, to his surprise, was greeted to the sight of his room.

_'I-I can see!? I thought whatever dad did failed?' _He shot up and noticed something odd about his sight. _'Why does everything look different?' _It seemed that everything looked bigger than it should be and his vision seemed to be more narrower than before. He went to his bathroom mirror and discovered what he could honestly say was the biggest surprise of his ten year old life.

What he could only describe as two twisted hybrid of a maggot and snake laid on his shoulders with their claws gripping into his PJs. A maw full of razor sharp teeth was below two glowing yellow eyes and black carapace with the rest of their long serpentine wrapped under his armpits and around his biceps, somehow not restricting his movements in any way.

Shikamaru raised a hand and ran it over one of the things, getting a soft hiss in return, to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. Once he confirmed he wasn't, the young heir closed his eyes, took a deep breath...

And screamed as loud as he could.

Downstairs Shikaku couldn't help but laugh as he got up to go to his son's room. "Just like his old man when he gotten his Tyranid. At least he can carry his own around."

**And that is it for chapter one! I've been planning this story for a while so expect a long one. I can't promise regular updates, however, as my life is one filled with busy duties such as school, work, and other things. If you have any questions then please leave it in your review. Until next time, see you later!**


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